The Problem with the Galaxy S26

TL;DR

Samsung cut features and raised the base S26's price to $900 because skyrocketing RAM costs and foldable priorities left the standard phone underfunded.

Key Points

• 1.The base S26 uses the same main sensor, ultrawide, and telephoto cameras as the S23, S24, and S25 — four generations unchanged — while costing $100 more than before.
• 2.Samsung's memory division allegedly refused to give the phone team a long-term RAM deal, instead selling to AI data centers, causing smartphone chip costs to jump ~25% in a single year.
• 3.Apple's services business (App Store, iCloud, etc.) generated $30 billion in one quarter alone, letting Apple undercut Samsung on price while Samsung must profit purely from hardware sales.
• 4.Samsung's energy is clearly in foldables: the Fold 7 was a complete redesign Austin calls the best single phone today, and the $2,900 Trifold marks Samsung defending a category it built against an incoming iPhone Fold.
• 5.The Ultra does get one standout new feature — a hardware-level privacy screen that selectively blocks pixels from side-angle viewers — but the base S26 also lost millimeter wave support and gets Exynos chips outside the US.